[HISTORY: Adopted and amended as indicated in text (Ch. 32
of the 1984 Code).]
[1955 Code, sec. 42; 1947, ch. 767; 1951, ch. 365, sec. 60(10)]
A.
Prerequisites to filing subdivision plats. Whenever the owner or
owners of lands in Allegany County shall subdivide their lands for
town or villa sites, streets, avenues, lanes or alleys, lots or for
any other purpose and shall desire, for the purpose of description
and identification, a plat of said subdivision to be recorded among
the land records of said County or whenever any street, avenue, public
road, lane or alley shall be acquired by condemnation or otherwise
by the County Commissioners of said County or by any other person
or persons or body corporate, of which a plat is now required by the
laws of the state to be recorded, the Clerk of the Circuit Court of
Allegany County is hereby directed to receive and record the same
as hereinafter described, but said Clerk shall not receive for record
nor allow to be recorded in his office any such plat until the following
requirements hereinafter prescribed shall have been complied with:
(1)
Preparation. In a size in accordance with Real Property § 3-108,
such plats shall be made or drawn upon a good quality of blueprint
linen of the uniform size of 24 inches by 24 inches, containing a
one-and-one-fourth-inch margin on the binding edge and a one-half-inch
margin on all other edges thereof; shall be drawn accurately to scale;
and shall contain the courses and distances of all the outlines or
perimeter of as much of the whole tract proposed to be subdivided
as is shown on the plat and on all roads, streets and avenues and/or
shall contain references to at least two of the outlines or perimeter
of the whole tract proposed to be subdivided. Where the alleys and
lot lines shown on the plat are not parallel with the adjacent roads,
streets and avenues, the courses and distances of such lines shall
be shown on the plat by courses and distances, and their tangent points
located by the coordinates hereinafter defined. The plat shall show
a meridian line drawn through one of the corners of the outline or
perimeter of the whole tract and another line drawn at right angles
to said meridian through the same point. The meridian so drawn shall
be either a true meridian or the magnetic meridian of the date of
the plat and so marked on the plat. From said meridian and right-angle
line, all the courses and distances and coordinates shown on the plat
shall be calculated. The coordinates shall be the distances of a point
from each of the two lines drawn through the corner of the outline
as above directed, measured on lines parallel with said meridian and
said right-angle line north or south, east or west of said corner,
and these distances shall be marked on the plat at the points where
coordinates are required by this section. The plat shall show the
coordinates for each corner of each avenue, road or street intersection
and the tangent point of all curved lines shown on said plat and shall
show accurately the dimensions of each lot. No distance on the plat
shall be marked "more or less," except on lines which begin or terminate
or bind on a marsh, stream or any body of water. The plat shall show
the position, by coordinates, of not less than four markers set in
convenient places on the subdivision in such manner that, from the
position of one marker, the position of one other marker will be visible.
These markers shall be made of hard, durable stone or of concrete,
three feet of which shall be planted into the ground. From these markers,
commonly called "traverse points," all corners and lines shall be
readily calculable and marked on the ground. If the subdivision lies
in an area where a traverse or coordinate system is already established
and the traverse points of said system can be found and used, such
points so used and the coordinate values thereof shall be marked on
the plat, then the meridian courses and distances and coordinates
required by this section shall be shown on the plat in accordance
with those of the already established traverse or coordinate system,
and no markers will be required. All plats shall show all natural
watercourses bordering on or running through said subdivision. All
plats shall contain a reference to the deed whereby the owners of
the land acquired the title to the same, setting forth the date and
place of record of said deed, and when such land shall have been acquired
by more than one conveyance, the outlines of the land acquired by
the several conveyances shall be indicated by red lines drawn upon
said plat; provided, however, that nothing in this section shall prevent
the maker of said plats from placing the same on record in sections
of the size and in the manner as hereinbefore provided, except that
when such sectional plats are used, each section shall be marked "Part
one of . . . .," "Part two of . . . .," etc. A certificate stating
that the requirements of this section, as far as it concerns the making
of the plat and setting of the markers, have been complied with shall
be put on the reverse side of the plat and signed by the owner or
owners of the land shown thereon. The plat shall be signed and sealed
by a registered land surveyor or a registered professional engineer.[2]
(2)
Submission to County Engineer. All plats shall be submitted to the
County Engineer for Allegany County, who shall check said plats and
approve the same if in conformity with this section. The County Engineer
shall place a certificate on the reverse side of said plats setting
forth that the requirements of this section have been complied with.
The County Engineer is hereby authorized and directed to reject all
plats, the streets, avenues or alleys of which do not conform with
the same general plan of development as shown on plats of adjacent
subdivisions.
(3)
Number of copies; filing fee. The maker of said plat or plats, when
the same shall be presented for record, shall furnish the Clerk of
the Circuit Court for Allegany County two copies of such plat or plats
and shall pay to said Clerk a fee of $5 for the recordation of each
plat so offered, and $1.50 for other plats.[3]
B.
Disposition of copies. In accordance with state law, one copy of
said plat or plats shall be securely fastened by said Clerk in the
book hereafter provided for. One copy shall be promptly sent by said
Clerk, together with 1/2 of said filing fee, to the Commissioner of
the Land Office, who shall number and file the same as a part of the
substance records of his Office and notify the Clerk of the number
so given. Upon receiving the notice of the number as aforesaid from
the Commissioner of the Land Office, the Clerk shall enter said number
on the plat recorded among the land records of Allegany County. One
copy shall be sent by said Clerk to the Supervisor of Assessments
for Allegany County, which shall be placed by said Supervisor of Assessments
in and attached to the plat book in this section required by him to
be kept.[4]
D.
Part of land records. Such plats, when filed for record as in this
section provided, shall constitute a part of the land records of said
County and shall have the same force and effect as to notice as is
now given to properly recorded deeds.
E.
Dedication to public use; reconversion. When said plats are so recorded,
those portions of said land designated on said plats as streets, roads,
avenues, lanes, alleys and public parks or squares shall be and the
same are hereby declared to be forever dedicated to public use and
shall not thereafter, on any pretext whatsoever, be altered or taken
for private use; provided, however, that nothing herein contained
shall affect the rights of any person or persons owning or claiming
any interest in said land derived by, from or under any persons other
than the maker of such plat or by, from or under such maker prior
to such subdivision; and provided, further, that the maker of any
such plat or plats, his heirs or assigns shall have the right to apply
by petition in equity to the Circuit Court for said County for leave
to abandon the subdivision of lands so made by him and reconvert the
same into one tract or parcel or to amend or alter said plat, and
said Court, if convinced upon such proof and after such notice by
publication or otherwise, as it shall direct, that no damage can be
in any wise sustained by persons other than the petitioners, shall
have power to pass an order authorizing and empowering such petitioner
to abandon such subdivision, either in whole or in part, or to amend
or alter the same, and the proceedings had under such petition shall
be docketed in the equity dockets and recorded in the equity or judgment
records of said Court, the petitioners in all cases paying the same
fees, costs and charges as are charged for like work, and when such
orders are passed, the Clerk of said Court shall endorse on the plat
affected thereby the dates and place of record of such orders.
F.
Copies of original plats.
(1)
Whenever the owner of any lands of which a plat has been heretofore
made and placed in the land record books of said County shall cause
to be made an exact copy of said plat, except as to necessary change
of scale and the addition of such matter as may be necessary to make
the same conform to the requirements of the preceding subsections,
and shall comply with the requirements of the preceding subsections
as applied to plats of new subdivisions, the same may be admitted
to record and filed as other plats. The Clerk shall thereupon endorse
upon said original plat a reference to the record book or place where
the new plat has been filed, a certificate that the plat heretofore
filed in said record book has been copied and made to conform to the
provisions of this subsection and that said copy has been filed and
recorded under the provisions of this subsection, which certificate
shall give the reference where said original plat may be found, provided
that before said new plat shall be entitled to record as hereinbefore
provided, there shall be endorsed upon same, in addition to the other
certificate required by this subsection, the certificate of the County
Engineer of Allegany County that the same is an exact copy of said
original plat, except as to those changes made necessary by the provisions
of this subsection.
(2)
References changed. After such new plats shall have been recorded
and said certificate endorsed upon the land record books as hereinbefore
provided, all deeds, mortgages and other instruments of writing conveying
any interest in any lands, referring for a part of the description
of the same to a plat mentioned as being recorded among the land record
books or plat case boxes of said County, shall be taken and deemed
to refer to the place at which said new plats shall, by said Clerk's
certificate, be stated to be recorded.[6]
[6]
Editor's Note: Original Subsection F(3), Copying of plats recorded prior to 1947; insertion in plat books, and Subsection F(4), Compensation and payment of surveyor or draftsman, which immediately followed this subsection, were deleted at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General Provisions, Art. I). All plats were transferred to Maryland State Archives and are maintained there, where they are available electronically.
[1]
Editor's Note: The following original sections, which immediately preceded this section, were deleted at time of adoption of Code (see Ch. 1, General Provisions, Art. I): § 32-1, Employment of stenographer, § 32-2, Re-recording illegible documents, and § 32-3, Validity of re-recorded documents continued. In addition, former § 32-3.1, Recordation tax, added 3-4-1983 by Bill No. 1-83, effective 5-2-1983, which previously preceded this section, was repealed 12-7-1994 by Bill No. 3-94, effective 1-21-1995. The recordation tax is now covered by Art. IV of Ch. 492, Taxation.
A.
Appointment and compensation. The Judges of the Fourth Judicial Circuit
of Maryland are hereby authorized and directed to appoint an Official
Court Reporter for the Circuit Court for Allegany and Garrett Counties,
who shall be a sworn officer of the courts of said circuit. The Official
Court Reporter so appointed for the Circuit Court for Allegany and
Garrett Counties shall receive such salary as said Judges of the Fourth
Judicial Circuit may authorize, in writing, to be paid him by the
County Commissioners of Allegany and Garrett Counties, respectively,
in regular monthly installments.
[P.L.L., 1930, Art. 1, sec. 73; 1955 Code, sec. 52; 1920,
ch. 201; 1922, ch. 254, sec. 2; 1927, ch. 461, sec. 2; 1943, ch. 400,
sec. 73; 1947, ch. 214, sec. 73; 1963, ch. 156, sec. 52; 1963, ch.
280, sec. 52]
B.
Payment of salary. The County Commissioners of Allegany and Garrett
Counties shall levy and pay to said Court Reporter so appointed for
the Circuit Courts for Allegany and Garrett Counties such salary as
said Judges of the Fourth Judicial Circuit may authorize, in writing,
in monthly installments as long as the Official Court Reporter is
performing the official duties herein provided for or until said County
Commissioners are notified by the Judges of said circuit to the contrary.
[P.L.L., 1930, Art. 1, sec. 74; 1955 Code, sec. 53; 1922,
ch. 254, sec. 4; 1943, ch. 400, sec. 74; 1947, ch. 214, sec. 74; 1963,
ch. 280, sec. 53]
C.
Qualifications and duties. The Official Court Reporter so appointed
for the Circuit Courts for Allegany and Garrett Counties shall be
skilled in the art and practice of stenography and typewriting and
shall hold said position until removed by the Judges of said circuit,
or a majority of them, and in case of a vacancy in said office, said
Judges are authorized and directed to appoint a suitable person in
conformity with this subsection to fill such vacancy. It shall be
the duty of the Official Court Reporter, at the discretion of said
Court, to take full stenographic notes of all oral testimony and judicial
opinions orally delivered at the regular terms and at all trials of
cases in law or in equity of said Court when the testimony is taken
in open court and any other judicial opinions or judicial matters
pertaining to the business of the Fourth Judicial Circuit of Maryland,
when requested by any of the Judges thereof. It shall be the duty
of the Official Court Reporter to furnish to any party to such proceedings
or his attorney, promptly upon request, a typewritten copy of the
notes of testimony and judicial opinions so delivered in open court
and recorded stenographically or so much thereof as may be requested,
on payment by such party of the expense of said copy at the rate in
accordance with the schedule of fees adopted by the Court. When any
Judge of said Court shall pass an order requesting a typewritten copy
of all or any part of the notes of the Official Court Reporter taken
as aforesaid to be made, it shall be the duty of the Official Court
Reporter to make such copy without charge, and said transcript and
also the transcript of all testimony taken as provided in equity cases
shall be filed in the proceedings in which said notes were taken.
[P.L.L., 1930, Art. 1, sec. 75; 1955 Code, sec. 54; 1922,
ch. 254, sec. 5; 1927, ch. 68; 1959, ch. 353; 1963, ch. 156, sec.
54; 1963, ch. 280, sec. 54]
D.
Daily attendance required. It shall be the duty of the Official Court
Reporter for Allegany and Garrett Counties to be in attendance daily
to do all the work required of him or her by the Chief Judge or any
of the Associate Judges of said circuit.
[P.L.L., 1930, Art. 1, sec. 76; 1955 Code, sec. 55; 1922,
ch. 254, sec. 6; 1963, ch. 280, sec. 55]
E.
Substitute Official Court Reporter. In case of a vacancy in the office
of Official Court Reporter or in case said Official Court Reporter
shall be ill or incapacitated or for some sufficient reason be unable
to be present, the Judges of said circuit may employ a substitute
Official Court Reporter, who shall also be a sworn officer of the
Court, and said substitute Official Court Reporter so appointed shall
receive such compensation as said Judges of the Fourth Judicial Circuit
may authorize, in writing, to be paid him or her by the County Commissioners
of Allegany and Garrett Counties for taking testimony and shall also
be entitled to the fees herein provided for transcripts.
[P.L.L., 1930, Art. 1, sec. 77; 1955 Code, sec. 56; 1922,
ch. 254, sec. 7; 1963, ch. 280, sec. 56]
F.
Costs for transcripts. In all equity cases when the testimony is
taken in open court and in all cases which shall be appealed by any
court to the Court of Appeals of Maryland, the costs of said Reporter
for making the original transcript in said case shall be taxed and
paid as other court costs are paid in said circuit.[1], [2]
[P.L.L., 1930, Art. 1, sec. 78; 1955 Code, sec. 57; 1922,
ch. 254, sec. 8]
[1]
Editor's Note: Former Subsection G, Attendance at Grand
Jury; transcripts, adopted and amended 1955 Code, sec. 58; 1943, ch.
422, sec. 78A; 1963, ch. 280, sec. 58, and former Subsection H, Violations
of secrecy, adopted and amended 1955 Code, sec. 60; 1943, ch. 422,
sec. 78C; 1963, ch. 280, sec. 60, which immediately followed this
subsection, were repealed 2006, ch. 372.
[P.L.L., 1930, Art. 1, sec. 79; 1955 Code, sec. 61; 1920,
ch. 93; 1924, ch. 173; 1953, ch. 555; 1957, ch. 809, sec. 79; 1963,
ch. 280, sec. 61; 1965, ch. 156; 1971, ch. 91[1]]
A.
In accordance
with § 2-501 of the Courts and Judicial Proceedings Article
of the Annotated Code of Maryland, the Judges of Circuit Court for
Allegany County, Maryland, are hereby authorized and empowered to
appoint and employ court administrators, assignment commissioners,
auditors, masters, examiners, court reporters, messengers, bailiffs,
court criers, librarians, clerks, secretaries, stenographers, jury
commissioners, law clerks and other employees necessary to conduct
the business of the court.
B.
Compensation.
Each employee of the Circuit Court is entitled to compensation as
provided in the appropriate budget and shall perform the duties that
the Judge directs.
C.
Such employees
shall not be eligible for membership in the County Classified Employees
System.
[1955 Code, sec. 63; 1937, ch. 496; 1959, ch. 142; 1972,
ch. 42; 2006, ch. 44]
The County Commissioners of Allegany County are directed to
pay to the Clerk of the Court, to be expended under the direction
of the Judges of said Court for the augmentation, maintenance and
upkeep of the library of said Court, such sums of money as said Judges
may, from time to time, request for the purpose aforesaid, such sums
in the aggregate not less than the sum of $3,000 in any one year;
provided, however, that such payments shall be made only in the event
that the amounts received by said Clerk for the aforesaid purposes
from fines and forfeitures, as provided by § 7-507 of the
Courts and Judicial Proceedings Article of the Annotated Code of Maryland,
shall be insufficient for said purposes.[1]
